A Leisure Day with Kids in St. Petersburg, Russia

September 14, 2016

A long expected day-off with the family. Where to go? Krestovsky Island, of course!

While the kids are fresh and full of energy, we took a stroll in the park. We passed the fishermen contest hosted by a famous local restaurant called Russian Fishing. There were quite a number of families supporting their fishermen around. I saw my husband wanted to participate, but with kids being so loud, he wouldn’t have a single chance.

We headed to our favourite family restaurant Karl & Friedrich. When my customers ask me to take them to the places where we, locals, go out, they are always surprised to find themselves in a Chinese, Italian or Georgian restaurant. No Russian food – we have plenty of that at home. When we have a meal out, we eat internationally. Karl & Friedrich is no exception. It’s a German restaurant and a microbrew. I would say, ideal restaurant for families with kids.

It was too early for lunch and we were not hungry yet. So, we spent some time at the playground arranged by the restaurant, and then went to the min-zoo. Karl & Friedrich owns a petting zoo named after one of the Russian cartoon characters, a funny creature called Cheburashka. I know many people do not like to see animals in captivity, but for us zoos are the only way to see exotic animals and birds from Southern countries so far to the North. A petting zoo is also a way for the kids to touch a different creature, not to be afraid of such domestic animals as goats, sheep and rabbits. We picked up a packet of special food for the animals and spent another half an hour watching our kids trying to feed the animals. Ivan liked the touch of the soft sheep.

Soon our kids started to inform us they wanted to “go to the windmill”. You see, the restaurant was built to look like a windmill. But this didn’t yet mean they were hungry. Simply, in the tower of the windmill itself there’s another play area – a kids’ room with a baby-sitter looking after children (different age and size). Ignoring our table and menu, both our kids headed straight to the kids’ room. Hungry as they were, it was still hard to pull them out of the kids’ room when our lunch was ready.

After lunch we headed for the entertainment park Divo Ostrov, located near by. By this time I was happy we had the buggy – kids took turns riding in it and having a rest. I wonder how they managed to negotiate the terms but it was one of the few cases when they didn’t argue.

Divo Ostrov offers a variety of rides for various age groups. nothe activity for the whole faily: everyone can find something suitable. Our smallest enjoyed the bouncy castle most of all, and Sophie headed for “more grown-up” things like planes, trains and cars. Although my husband and I didn’t really have a chance to try out any of the roller coasters, but watching our kids occupied and happy was quite enough.